Follow Your Heart, Not The Herd

Oft these days, I come across blogs, articles and interviews about people who quit their ‘9-5’ job to follow their true calling. I read about how life in a cubicle was almost stifling and offered no contentment that they had hoped for, and how taking that leap of faith turned out be their best decision. It is inspiring to read such stories! Choosing to do what you love over something you are unenthusiastic for is definitely the best gift you can give to yourself. Especially, if you found yourself bound by the strings of society and you decided to break those shackles.

One of the more popular true-callings that I read about happens to be travelling the world. Some others are about starting-up on their own, building apps, games and services what not. Trust me when I say, I think all this is absolutely great! I’ve had the opportunity to interact with a few such gems, thanks to social media. And their enthusiasm is infectious; their belief in what they so passionately do commands respect.

However, I have also come to observe how this is benchmarking what makes you successful, more importantly, happy. Unless you have jerked off some (or at least one) of those societal shackles, you are probably not doing it right in life! That, if you are leading what is infamously known as the ‘corporate life’, you are seen as moving farther away or even completely foregoing the simple pleasures of life. That, you are monetising your life by striving to go up the corporate ladder! I feel confused when I hear people tell me about their jobs with such disdain, because well, they are just ‘9-5’ jobs. “What would you rather be doing then?” is (as politely as possible) my next question, and pat comes the reply, “Oh, no. I love my job, but well – it is just a corporate job. Nothing fancy you see!”.

Jumping to extreme viewpoints is a plague our world is diseased with. The ‘either-or’ philosophy is what we go by, anything grey is befuddling. Also is the habit of labelling everything. This is good, that is pathetic. That is cool, this is boring. What I am trying to say here is, just because one is trending does not mean the other is completely meaningless. A career with the corporates teaches you as much as travelling the world on your own – yes, they teach you some very different things and that’s the difference you want to choose for yourself.

As I sit staring out the window in our living room, feeling rather preachy, I remember the whatsapp texts from my brother the other day, telling me excitedly about this taxi driver who studied economics and yet chose to taxi simply because he loved meeting new people; and then I also remember my two friends who went travelling around the world for months and have now come back rejuvenated to reinvade the corporate world, this time in the sphere of their interest.

To them I raise a toast, for, no job is less fancy if you find the joy in your heart to do it day in, day out!